Dragonback 01 Dragon and Thief (17 page)

"Enough," Snake Voice cut him off again. "I'll speak with you
later. Now. Jack."

Jack turned back to face the lights. "Yes?"

"I don't think you realize the seriousness of the situation you're
in," Snake Voice said. "Not only did you gun down two innocent Vagran
citizens, but you then fled the jurisdiction."

Jack's stomach tied itself into a knot at the memory. "You mean I
was kidnapped," Jack corrected him. "And it was Raven who shot them,
not me."

"I have three witnesses who will swear in court that you were the
one who pulled the trigger," Snake Voice said calmly. "Assuming the
case ever reaches a court, that is. Alternatively, the whole unpleasant
incident could simply end up in the Vagran Police 'unsolved' file."

Jack glared past the lights. "The phony theft thing wasn't good
enough for you, huh?" he said bitterly. "You had to kill a couple of
innocent Wistawki to get me on the hook?"

"In my experience, no one is truly innocent," Snake Voice said
offhandedly. "As to the rest, it was you who ruined the previous
frame-up."

"Yeah, right," Jack muttered. "Stupid of me. How dare I try to
clear myself?"

"And none of it would have been necessary at all if your uncle
hadn't made himself so difficult to find," Snake Voice concluded. "If
you dislike your current position, take it up with him."

"What, there aren't any other con men in the business anymore?"
Jack asked, fishing for information.

There was a short pause, and he had the distinct and uncomfortable
feeling that Snake Voice was smiling at him. "Like uncle, like nephew.
Virgil Morgan was always squeezing stones, too, trying to pump
information out of them."

Jack shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying."

"Oh yes, I could," Snake Voice said. "But I won't. And no, I don't
want his con artist skills. What I want is his considerable talent at
opening large and well-protected vaults. At that, he's the best there
is. And I'm accustomed to having the very best."

"Okay," Jack said. He'd squiggled around long enough, and it was
clear now that there was only one way to play this. "What's the job,
and what's the pay?"

"As I told you before, that's none of your concern," Snake Voice
said.

"And as I told
you
before, if you want Uncle Virgil you
have to talk to me," Jack countered. "I mean, there's not much point in
being retired if anyone can get hold of you just by picking up a phone."

There was another silence, a long one this time. Jack kept his
eyes focused between the desk lights, trying to get a glimpse of
whoever was back there. But the best he could do was a vague outline
that could have been a man. It could just as easily have been a shaped
bonsai tree.

"I must have missed his retirement party," Snake Voice said at
last. "Very well. Drabs?"

A few clunking footsteps, and Drabs appeared at Jack's side,
glowering down at him. Gripped in his hand was a small metal suitcase.
"You sure you want to do this, sir?" he asked. "Personally, I don't
trust this kid farther than I can spit him."

"If he crosses us, you can go to Vagran and watch his execution,"
Snake Voice said. "Open it."

Still glowering, Drabs hoisted the suitcase onto Jack's lap and
popped the catches.

There was only a single item in the suitcase, nestled snugly in
the center of custom-fitted foam packaging: a slender metal cylinder,
eight inches long and three in diameter. A number was stamped into one
end: 407662. There were also a handful of connectors and valves jutting
out at various places.

"There's a cylinder just like this one in the purser's safe aboard
the passenger liner
Star of Wonder,
" Snake Voice said. "The job
is simply to replace that cylinder with this one."

"Ah," Jack said, trying to sound casual. "Just like that."

"Just like that," Snake Voice assured him. "A simple enough job
for a man of Virgil Morgan's talents."

"Naturally," Jack agreed with a sinking feeling in his empty
stomach. Right. Breaking into a strongly built and heavily protected
vault aboard a luxury starliner should be just a walk in the park.

Maybe for Uncle Virgil it would have been. Problem was, Uncle
Virgil was dead. "And what's the pay?"

"He gets his nephew back," Snake Voice said quietly. "In one
piece, and with no Vagran warrant for his arrest."

Jack swallowed. "Yeah," he muttered. "Under the circumstances, I
think he'll take the job."

"Excellent," Snake Voice said, his voice as calm and untroubled as
if he'd just closed some simple business deal. "Drabs, have the bridge
set up an InterWorld connection to the office here. Mr. Morgan will be
placing a call to his uncle."

"Yes, sir," Drabs said, closing and sealing the suitcase again.
Lifting it off Jack's lap, he started back toward the door.

Hesitantly, Jack lifted a finger. "Excuse me, but it's not quite
that simple."

"No?" Snake Voice asked, a definite hint of threat in his voice.

"No," Jack said. "I'm not calling Uncle Virgil from here. You put
me aboard the
Star of Wonder
, and I'll take it from there."

"Impossible," Snake Voice said. "You're staying here as a
guarantee of your uncle's behavior."

Jack lifted his eyebrows. "Then get someone else to do the job."

"You want me to change his mind, sir?" Drabs asked.

"I'd like nothing better," Snake Voice said. "Unfortunately,
Morgan will want guarantees that his nephew is unharmed."

"You put him aboard the liner and he'll bolt," Drabs warned. "Sure
as anything he will."

"No, I don't think so," Snake Voice said thoughtfully. "He's smart
enough to realize that once a warrant is issued on Vagran, he'll never
be safe again. Not anywhere in the Orion Arm."

Jack sighed. "Yes, thanks, I've got the message. How far away is
the liner?"

"Not far," Snake Voice said. "Across this very spaceport, as a
matter of fact. Drabs will take you there and buy you a ticket."

"Fine," Jack said. "What about clothes and tools?"

"You can pick up a change of clothing aboard ship," Snake Voice
said. "As for tools, I presume Morgan will bring his own. When you
contact him."

There was a slight shuffling noise, as if the man behind the desk
was leaning forward. "You
are
planning to contact him as you
promised, aren't you?"

"Don't worry," Jack said, wishing fervently that he
did
have Uncle Virgil to call on. Or even Uncle Virge. "I know how to
handle it," he added, trying to sound like he actually did. "I want my
stuff back, though."

"Your stuff?"

"My multitool, EvGa, and tangler," Jack told him. "Your people
took them from me on Vagran."

"Of course," Snake Voice said. "Drabs will return your multitool
before you board the ship. You won't be needing the other items."

"But—"

"Then that's settled," Snake Voice said. "One final point. The
liner will leave here early this afternoon, make three more stops, then
reach its final destination twelve days from now. Your uncle has just
that long to complete his task. I suggest you don't wait too long to
contact him."

Twelve days. Terrific. "Sure," Jack said.

"Good. Any questions?"

"Yes, actually," Jack said. "What's in the real cylinder, and who
am I stealing it from?"

"So; no questions," Snake Voice said. "Excellent. You'll be
contacted again in twelve days. I trust your uncle will be there to
give me good news."

An unseen signal passed, and Drabs got a grip on his arm. "On your
feet, kid."

Jack did as ordered. Halfway up, a black bag unexpectedly dropped
over his head. "Hey!"

"A necessary precaution," Snake Voice said. "Enjoy the cruise."

They were out of the ship and into a land vehicle before the
blindfold came off. Even then, they weren't taking any chances: the
vehicle was a closed truck, and he and Drabs were in the back. "First
class all the way, I see," Jack commented. "Where do I sleep on the
liner, the engine room?"

"Funny," Drabs growled. "Don't worry, I'll get you a real nice
double cabin. Like the boss said, we want you to enjoy the trip."

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Jack still hadn't had a
chance to check on Draycos, but he could feel some slight movement on
his skin now. He hoped the dragon was okay.

Finally, they pulled to a stop. "End of the line?" Jack asked.

"For me, yes," Drabs said. "For you, it's the beginning."

"I can hardly wait," Jack muttered, standing up and heading back
to the rear doors.

Drabs blocked his way. "I just have one other thing to say to
you," he said, his eyes locking onto Jack's face like twin lasers. "The
boss told you you'd be in trouble with the cops if you mess this up.
What
I'm
telling you is that if you duck out on us, odds are
you won't have to worry about the cops. Odds are you'll be dead before
they ever catch up with you. Get me?"

"Sure," Jack said tiredly. "Matter of fact, I've had about as much
of you as I'd ever want. Can we go now?"

For another minute Drabs continued to glare. Then, he smiled. A
very unpleasant smile. "Sure," he said. "Let's go."

Drabs was as good as his word. The cabin he got for Jack was
easily the nicest room the boy had ever been in, except for one
ground-side hotel suite Uncle Virgil had rented them once during a
high-stakes scam.

Of course, the fact that Drabs had kept his promise on the cabin
probably meant he would keep other promises, too. Such as his threat to
hunt Jack down and kill him if he tried to run.

The first job, after catching up on each other's stories, was to
make up for the three days of missed meals. According to the map in his
stateroom, the
Star of Wonder
had ten dining rooms and snack
bars, four of which were open twenty-four hours a day. The room's
status listing showed that Drabs had left a generous credit line for
him to draw on, so eating and other incidentals wouldn't be a problem.

But having also lived in the same set of clothes for those same
three days, he didn't think the high-paying customers of the liner
would appreciate mingling with him over lunch.

Fortunately, his stateroom was fancy enough to have a small food
synthesizer set off in one corner. The menu was limited to simple
snacks, but there was enough of a selection for him to at least take
the edge off his hunger.

Not surprisingly, the synthesizer balked at preparing Draycos's
favorite hamburger-and-tuna-and-chocolate-sauce sandwich. Jack solved
that problem by ordering a hamburger, a tuna fish sandwich, and a
chocolate sundae, then putting them together himself. The dragon had to
make do without the motor oil.

After that he took a trip to one of the shops for some changes of
clothing, which Draycos insisted on. A shower was next, which Draycos
insisted on even more firmly.

With all of what Uncle Virge would have called housekeeping duties
out of the way, Jack could finally get down to business. Sprawling
across one of the two beds in the shirt and slacks of a suit he'd
bought, he began going through the
Star of Wonders
information
booklets, reading about the ship's services and studying the layouts of
the various decks. Draycos, for his part, curled himself up on the
chair at the small writing desk across the room, singing softly to
himself and doodling on a notepad.

"I don't know, Draycos," Jack sighed, letting the map drop onto
the bed and leaning back against the bulkhead. It was hard to believe
that after sleeping for three days straight he could be tired, but he
was. He was tired, frustrated, and very, very scared. "I feel like I've
been dropped into a deep hole, with the whole universe standing on top
shoveling dirt in at me. What are we going to do?"

The dragon paused in his singing and looked up. "About what?" he
asked, readjusting the stylus he had gripped in one of his front paws.

"What do you mean, about what?" Jack demanded, a flash of
annoyance cutting through the fear. "About this whole stupid situation,
that's what. Do you have any idea the kind of security they're going to
have on the purser's safe?"

"I do not know," Draycos said. "What is a purser's safe?"

"The purser is the guy on a starliner in charge of money," Jack
told him. "His safe is the vault where passengers can store their
valuables during the trip."

He waved his hand in a wide sweep around him. "And on a ship like
this, there are going to be some really
serious
valuables.
Jewelry, data tubes, maybe even some one-of-a-kind art objects. It's
going to be like breaking into a bank. Worse than a bank, really,
because here there's no place to run after the job."

"You cannot do it?"

Jack shook his head. "Maybe Uncle Virgil could have done it, with
the right tools and a week or two to get ready. He was good enough. But
I'm not. Not alone."

Draycos's green eyes glittered. "But you are not alone, Jack," he
said quietly. "I am here."

Jack gazed at the dragon, a strange feeling stirring inside him.
Here was this alien creature, willing to help him out of a tight spot.
Not only willing to help, but willing to stick his own neck into danger
doing it.

It was like the feeling of slowly starting to thaw out again in a
warm room after standing around half frozen in the cold all afternoon.
For a moment, despite the trouble he was still in, Jack felt a distant
glimmer of hope.

Then the rest of the reality caught up with him. Draycos wasn't
doing this out of the goodness of his heart, or whatever was in his
chest pumping all that black blood around. He had a fleet full of his
people to rescue, and at the moment Jack was the only tool he had. If
Jack went down, Draycos went down with him.

The dragon was here, but only until he found someone else to help
him carry on his mission. When he did, it would be good-bye.